Blog

People with cancer are waiting too long for treatment in Ireland

Insufficient capacity to deliver existing services is one problem. Insufficient capability to deliver standard-of-care cancer management in key areas is another.

In most areas of cancer care, Ireland is performing well on capability, but there are gaps.

The most obvious gap is the absence of Electronic Healthcare Records. Ireland is 20-30 years behind Europe.

Have you ever had to explain to your GP the results of your scans, the procedures that you underwent, the new medications that you are now taking following an extended stay in hospital?

That is probably because the letter hasn’t arrived in the post yet.

It is not your GP’s fault.

The first step in securing the quality of cancer care that we deserve is a commitment to provide the NCCP(National Cancer Control Programme) with predictable and ring-fenced multi-year funding to deliver the agreed National Cancer Strategy.

https://www.thejournal.ie/readme/oncology-wait-treatments-funding-ireland-6432861-Jul2024/

Navigating breastfeeding through cancer treatment

Chemotherapy eventually drew to an end my journey as a breastfeeding cancer patient. This made me very sad. I felt that the decision of when I stopped breastfeeding my child had been taken away from me.Although it was a necessary evil, it would have helped to have had a discussion about it with my medical team, or been signposted to services that could help me through the process. 

What you need to know

  • When treating a new mother, consider the needs of the mother and baby as a whole, including breastfeeding support
  • The breastfeeding network drug fact sheet offers advice for breastfeeding in relation to treatments and investigations
  • If a mother has recently stopped breastfeeding, check that any medications you prescribe do not promote lactation

  • When might you create a plan to support a mother to continue breastfeeding throughout her treatment or hospital stay?
  • What information or resources could you share?
  • How could you support a mother who has to be separated from her baby during treatment?

https://www.bmj.com/content/386/bmj.q1284

Drugs in Breastmilk factsheets

Cancer prevention vaccine (Nous-209) for people with Lynch syndrome

This US study is testing a vaccine, known as the Nous-209 vaccine, which is intended to decrease the chances that people with Lynch syndrome will develop polyps that can turn into cancer. 

People with Lynch syndrome who enroll in the study will participate for one year. It evaluates the safety and effectiveness of the Nous-209 vaccine in people affected with Lynch syndrome.

https://www.facingourrisk.org/research-clinical-trials/study/278/cancer-prevention-vaccine-nous-209-for-people-with-lynch-syndrome

Lynch Syndrome

Lynch syndrome is an autosomal dominant hereditary cancer syndrome, associated with a 40%–80% lifetime risk of developing colorectal, endometrial and other cancers.

Lynch syndrome may be suspected from a family history of bowel cancer and other Lynch syndrome-related cancers, triggering genomic testing in the family.

Lynch syndrome is an autosomal dominant condition, so that each child (son or daughter) and each sibling (brother or sister) of an affected individual has a 50% (1-in-2) chance of inheriting the condition.

It is important to remember that chance has no memory, and the 1-in-2, or 50%, chance of inheriting the altered gene for the condition applies to each child, irrespective of whether or not the parents have already had children with, or without, the condition.

https://www.genomicseducation.hee.nhs.uk/genotes/

Sugar-free diets, high dose vitamin C and other false cures for cancer – an expert guide to spotting misinformation

As social media has become less regulated in recent years, and the influence of conspiracy theorists has grown, cancer misinformation has grown along with it. Here is how you can find trustworthy sources….

https://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/health-features/sugar-free-diets-high-dose-vitamin-c-and-other-false-cures-for-cancer-an-expert-guide-to-spotting-misinformation/a805384138.html

Lynch Syndrome: Diagnosis & Treatment

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lynch-syndrome/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20374719

Your GP may want you to consider genetic testing for Lynch syndrome if your family history has one or more of the following:

  • Multiple relatives with any Lynch-associated cancers, including colon cancer and endometrial cancer. Other cancers caused by Lynch syndrome include those that happen in the stomach, ovaries, pancreas, kidneys, bladder, ureters, brain, gallbladder, bile ducts, small intestine and skin.
  • One or more family members who had cancer before age 50.
  • One or more family members who have had more than one type of cancer.
  • More than one generation of family with the same type of cancer.

Lynch Syndrome Management Guidelines – Gene Specific 2024 – UKCGG

https://www.ukcgg.org/information-education/ukcgg-leaflets-and-guidelines/

Gynaecology and Lynch Syndrome

From LS UK Annual Conference 2024

Neil is a Clinical Lecturer and Gynaecology Oncology Surgical Subspecialty Fellow at the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian. His passion is to improve the care of those with Lynch syndrome through prevention and personalised treatment.

“Prevention is better than cure – vaccination for Lynch syndrome”

LS UK Conference 2024 – Dr David Church